Customer Reviews

Dead Rising 2

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

QUICK NOTES:

First off, Let me say that I give this game a solid 4.5 stars, or 9/10. It'd be great if Amazon would come up with a more precise rating system.

If you're somebody who's never played Dead Rising, I think you may still find this review helpful in deciding whether to buy Dead Rising 2. If nothing else, check out sections 8 and 9.

If you've played the original Dead Rising and don't want to read a review this long, you should scroll down to parts 3, 8 and 9.


Tabel of Contents
1. Introduction & Background
2. Overview & Story
3. The Save System
4. General Gameplay
5. Enemies, Weapons, & Combat
6. Graphics
7. Sound
8. Summary
9. Who Should Buy This Game?


1. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND:


It's been over four years since the original Dead Rising was released exclusively for Microsoft's then-less-than-year-old Xbox 360. It featured a wildly fun blend of improvised using, a vast and varied game world to explore, dozens of original characters, and plenty of over-the-top Japanese humor. Oh, and Zombies. Lots and lots of old school, dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks, slower-than-Rosie-O'Donnel-after-a-big-meal Zombies. And we found them as fun to kill as they found us delicious to eat.

All of these things served to make Dead Rising stand out from the pack, not just of games in general, but also the survival horror genre itself. I mean, what kind of game allows you to use a machine gun on your enemies one second, and the next, if you so choose, throw a giant stuffed teddy bear at them? What kind of game pits you against not only the undead, but enemies such as an opera singing clown, who twirls around with two chainsaws, or a 300 pound police woman, or a Rambo wannabe who runs a camping store? No doubt about it, Dead Rising is truly a modern classic. Unfortunately, for all of it's virtues, it had several very obvious and frustrating flaws.

Seeing as how many of the people reading this will be familiar with the original Dead Rising, I will make reference to it throughout this review, comparing the two games along the way, noting improvements and, in some cases, setbacks.


2. OVERVIEW & STORY.

I'm not a big fan of reviews that go deep into plots (they usually just end up spoiling the game, don't they?), so I'll only make a few remarks in that direction.
You don't have to look any further than the game's package to realize that you no longer play as photographer Frank West. Instead, you play as former Motocross champ Chuck Greene. It's been 5 years since the outbreak at Willamette, and the hordes of undead have been either killed or captured. But before the zombies were contained, Chuck's wife was killed, and his daughter, Katey, bitten. Fortunately, there exists a drug, Zombrex, that prevents a bitten person from turning into a zombie. Thing is, it's gotta be administered every 24 hours, or the transformation will take place.

As if Chuck didn't have enough to worry about, shortly after the opening of the game, a horde of zombies is intentionally released, and Chuck is framed for it. After the outbreak, our hero manages to get to a safe room (which plays the role the security room did in the first game), along with his daughter and a handful of other survivors. From there, Chuck must venture out into the mall in search of Zombrex for Katey, other survivors, and the person who framed him.


3. THE SAVE SYSTEM:

Let's get this question out of the way right off the bat. Anyone one who played the original Dead Rising knows what a joke its save system was. First of all, you were only allowed one save slot per storage device, so multiple games, safety saves, and experimentation were out of the picture. As if that weren't bad enough, you had to either go to the security room, or else find a bathroom in order to save your game. Problem was, bathrooms were few and far between. That's a pretty big deal when you're playing a game that runs on a sensitive and strict time limit. You'd very often find yourself doing the math on whether or not you had time to go save your game. I mean, let's say you take 10 minutes to find a save point, that could very well have meant that when you loaded up your game next, you found yourself with too little time to complete an objective, because finding the save point took too long. And if it happened to be a main story objective that you didn't have time to coplete, well then it sucked to be you, because that meant you had to start the game all over again if you wanted to finish the story. Or let's say you came across an unexpected boss battle on the way to a save point, and you got yourself killed -- that could mean hours and hours of gameplay lost. What a headache! Now, I have no objection to challenging games per se', but if a game is challenging, it should be by design, not by design *flaw*. But at the end of the day, having to deal with such an awful save system inside of such an awesome game was a little like being married to a beautiful woman -- only she sounded like Barry White. But I digress...

So, did Capcom fix this? I'd say yes, and no. Mostly Yes. You now have 3 save slots, and bathrooms are much, much more plentiful, generally being located in each area. This allows the kind of breathing room that makes this a more enjoyable game, without the kind of hangups that would turn off otherwise interested gamers. I'd prefer a save-anywhere system (and you probably would, too), but what Dead Rising 2 offers is definitely reasonable, not taking away from the game in any significant way. If the save system was you problem with Dead Rising, I think most reasonable gamers will be satisfied with the leeway given in this sequel.

(Just as an aside, remember what game saving used to be like? Remember the original Nintendo? Remember the fat neighbor kid getting up from the couch to get another Pepsi, and his walking across the living room being enough to send vibrations through floor that would freeze the game you just spent all Saturday on? Well, I do. And looking back, I'm pretty grateful for today's save systems in general!)



4. GENERAL GAMEPLAY:

Instead of reinventing the wheel with Dead Rising 2, Capcom took what they did right, and tried to fix what they did wrong. This would be annoying in some cases, but this game's formula is so original, fun, and addicting, that the similarities feel more like smart design choices than they do lazy cop outs. While the core of the game, location type, time-limited gameplay, and enemies are essentially the same, this a true sequel. So, what's the same and what's different?

First and most obvious, the location is brand new. Willamette is miles away. DR2 takes place in Fortune City, Nevada -- a Gambling mecca that was built over what used to be Las Vegas. The particular place you find yourself in is in fact another shopping center. Even though it's the same type of setting, it has a very different vibe to than Willamette, because of the different stores, objects, surrounding, and even music. In other words, it's no re-hash.

The objectives in Dead Rising 2 are very similar to original's. You have a person informing you of the locations of survivors in the shopping center, and you track them down and bring them back to the safe room. This is a much smoother process in this sequel. For one thing, in the first game, if you didn't have an HDTV, you were probably out of luck when it came to reading the text that informed you of mission updates and details. Capcom has fixed this; the text in DR2 is much larger, and contrasted against a much better background. Also, when it comes to actually escorting survivors, they are much more alert and competent when navigating through zombies and defending themselves. And, as for actually getting them into the safe room, instead of having to clear out an elevator full of zombies, get the survivors to enter the elevator, and then take them too a roof where they may or may not feel like jumping up to the platform where the duct was, you simply take them down a hall and down some stairs into a room where the duct is located. Much, much simpler.

Also, while action packed and often intense, this game is refreshing in that it doesn't take itself too seriously. For example, one of the unique things about the game world is that you can wear almost any clothing you find in the mall. Let me tell you, it's add a whole new dynamic to cutscenes when your guy is wearing short shorts and a teddy bear head!


5. ENEMIES, WEAPONS, & COMBAT:

Zombies.
The undead are obviously the most common enemy. They act and move like the idiots they are. One zombie is no threat, but face large numbers of them, and you've got your work cut out for ya.

Bosses.
In addition to zombies, Dead Rising 2 has some fantastic bosses, just as the first game did. I have to say, this is one of my favorite things to find in a game. I happen to be a huge fan of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, and I know at least part of that has to do with its varied and over the top boss battles. But whereas those bosses are usually very eccentric in a dramatic way, Dead Rising 2's bosses are very eccentric in a funny and silly way. When you beat them, the toughness of the fight isn't was sticks out in your mind, instead you find yourself thinking, "Man, that guy was CRAZY!" Anyway, if you have an eye for odd and strange details, I think you'll get a kick out of them, because they'll probably remind you of at least one mildly loopy person that you know.

Non-boss Psychopaths.
In the wake of the chaos caused by the new outbreak, looters occupy the mall, looking to cash in. They are faster, tougher, and more deadly than the zombies, but a few whacks to the head with a bat (or whatever) will convince them to lay down for a while, if you know what I mean. Not much of a threat.

Special Operations Soldiers.
These guys are called in as soon as the outbreak occurs, but they don't show up until the end of Day 3. Unknown to the survivors, this isn't a rescue squad, but a clean up crew. Anyone unlucky enough to find themselves in Fortune City when they show up better be ready for a fight. Unlike the zombies, even one of these guys can pose a threat if you don't handle them right.

Melee.
In terms of melee combat, Dead Rising 2 feels almost identical to the first one, except that there seem to be slip ups now and then when weapons don't make hits, even though they visually made contact. This problem is very minor, and doesn't take much away from the gameplay.

Of course, at the heart of it, combat in this game is mostly about using whatever you can to work your way through the masses of undead. And there is no shortage of, um, things! Saw blades, necklaces, CD's, shotguns, umbrellas, swords, bottles of vodka . . . literally, whatever! Make use of it all to survive the fight!

What's more, Capcom has stepped it up with a really nifty weapons combo system. There are workshops located throughout the game in which you can combine certain objects to make super weapons. Have some nails and a bat? Combine them to make a spiked club. Or, taken straight from a drunken 4 year-old's idea of what it's like to be Wolverine, you could put knives through your boxing gloves and make some lethal hand claws! There are so many combos to put together, and not only do they make you more deadly, you get more experience points for using them, and they last longer than normal weapons. Win, win.

Guns.
One big improvement is the refined gunplay. In the last game, you'd have to pull the right trigger to bring up your sights, wich just felt awkward to anyone who's ever played a modern day shooter. Even when you got the sights up, moving your crosshair around was less than smooth, making gun combat much less than what it could've been. In Dead Rising 2, however, they've switched to the much more intuitive left trigger to bring up the sight, and aiming is much smoother and more responsive. Even the crosshair itself is refined, having gone from a lifeless plus sign, to a fully functional reticle that indicates when you can and can't take accurate shots (by shrinking and expanding, depending on movement).

Hand-to-Hand.
Oddly enough, hand to hand fighting has changed for the worse. Chuck's move list is noticeable smaller than Frank's. Not a big deal though, as the weapons will keep you plenty busy.


6. GRAPHICS:

The looks of Dead Rising 2 are only slightly better than it's older brother's. Don't get me wrong, it's by no means ugly -- far from it. The lighting and shadowing are better, but in reality, there have only been what look like minor texture and character model improvements. On the other hand, there are plenty of instances when there are far more zombies on screen at one time than in the original game (up to 7,0001!). What good would top notch visuals be if they only lead to lag? For all the action that's taking place, Dead Rising 2's graphics are respectable.

One thing that a lot of people will find annoying, though, is the sheer number and length of loading screens. While they serve to keep things running smoothly, they really chop up the pace and flow. This will be to Dead Rising 2 what the crappy save system was to Dead Rising 1, in the sense that it's what people are going to complain most about.

When it's all said and done, I don't find less than stellar graphics and frequent loading screens to be that big of a setback. I mean, I just played through Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic the other day. Outdated graphics? Yes. One of the best game experiences, even to this day? Absolutely. Beauty is only skin deep, as they say.


7. SOUND:

Sound effects are top-notch. Gun shots, baseball bats, knife slashing, zombie moans, chainsaws -- everything sounds just like it should. The voice acting is quite good as well. Don't expect Oscar level stuff, but given the wacky and goofy nature of the characters, everything feels spot on. However, there is still a fair bit of text to be read when interacting with survivors, and with transmissions over the radio. Why couldn't they have gone with voice acting at these points? Don't tell me it's because of disc space (just think Oblivion). As far as music goes, it fits the game well. It's mostly silly Muzak type-stuff, but I can't think of anything that'd work better.


8. SUMMARY:

Dead Rising 2 represents another step forward for a genre-busting horror franchise that's at once action-filled and laid back. It's built upon a foundation that champions inventive combat, humor, exploration, and experimentation. While easy to grasp, the story is engaging and entertaining -- it's a tale of a man fighting for his daughter, the people around him, and his innocence. While combat is very similar to that of its predecessor, the new weapons and weapon combo system will keep you busy for hours as you come up with new ways to take down your enemies. Even though Dead Rising 2 fixes the main problems associated with the first game, it introduces a few of it's own, such as lengthy and frequent load times. But this is a relatively minor flaw, and, on balance with such excellent gameplay, it can easily be overlooked. All in all, Dead Rising 2 is the product of some of the most creative and talented people in the game making industry, setting the bar even higher for the zombie action genre.


9. WHO SHOULD BUY THIS GAME?


FOR THOSE NEW TO DEAD RISING:

Even if you've never played the first game, and never plan to (for whatever reason), Dead Rising 2 would still be very accessible to you. It is not a direct continuation of the first game's story, taking place 5 years after, with an entirely different character. While there are references to the first game's story, Dead Rising 2 is an adventure in itself. In any event, good summaries of the original Dead Rising can be easily found. If an action horror survival game that doesn't take itself too seriously sounds like your thing, try this out.

If you're a big fan of first person shooters, and really like autosave checkpoints, and linear levels, and nothing else, don't buy this game. It's probably not your thing. On the other hand, you might acquire a taste for it. Give it a rent.

If you don't like bloody games for yourself or perhaps your kids, pass this one up altogether. It's violent, it's gory. Heads, limbs, and torsos fly left and right.



FOR DEAD RISING VETS:

If you played and enjoyed the first game, what are you waiting for? Order this already! You won't be sorry.

If you kind of liked the first game, but didn't like the save system, know that that's been fixed. You now have 3 save slots, and save points are easily found. You should give Dead Rising 2 a shot.

If you didn't like the basic gameplay and concept of the original Dead Rising, then I can almost guarantee you you won't like this game either. It's very heavily based on it's older brother.

If you beat Dead Rising 1 in less than a week, and never played it again, give this one a rent. Even with the online elements, it has a very similar length and replay value as the original.


My Gamertag: Bob Loblaw556

Dead Rising 2, i have to admit, when i heard about it about a year ago i was ecstatic. I Played the first Dead Rising and got the 53, and whatever zombie achievement, I leveled Frank all the way up, etc. etc. In short, it was fun, I found myself killing Zombies just to pass the time. The question was, did they do anything better in Dead Rising 2. 25 achievements, and 3 playthroughs later, i find myself perplexed with the inability to come up with a definite 'yes' or 'no' to that question.

In Dead Rising 2, you Play an Ex motocross Champion Chuck Greene. Chuck was in the Las Vegas Outbreak, and the incident claims his wife and almost claims his child. Since the last Dead Rising, a new drug called "Zombrex" has been invented, it temporarily delays the change into a Zombie by 24 hours. Problem is, Its EXPENSIVE, Chuck has to do some weird crap to make enough money to buy the stuff so his little girl, Katey doesn't try to eat him or the cat at home. Chuck ends up in Fortune City in a game called TIR (Terror Is Reality) to participate in a Zombie killing-fest game to earn cash for Zombrex. During the games, a Zombie outbreak occurs, and Chuck and Katey now have to survive until the military get there, 3 days from now. You have three days, in a Fortune City Casino Strip Mall, Katey Has no Zombrex, and You have been blamed for the outbreak. Chuck's life, Katey's life, and countless others' lives are in your sweaty hands. Think you're up to find the truth? Well, lets find out if you'll even want to first.

What's Good:

Graphics:
Dead Rising 2 isn't the cream of the crop in visuals, but then, most games can't boast hundreds of zombies all moving with no hiccups in framerate. Its impressive, its immersive, the graphics are great really, Capcom really brought fortune city to life, (and ironically death). Zombies are animated wonderfully, and they come apart into pieces even better in this one than the last. Its just fun to kill them because it's so fun to watch them come apart (i note HOLD B broadsword's damage). Though occasionally i had hiccups with explosions while mowing down large crowds of zombies in the 4X4, on foot, never one.

The Story:
DR2 gives you a reason to care, Katey's so darn cute and lovable, plus Chuck himself is generally respectable. He's been wronged and he has to find a way out of this. The story is engaging, and it definitely is not a rehash of the last DR. The story feels unique, and some of the endings, are very powerful. I Strongly recommend beating the game multiple times to see them all. That said its quite bland too, its predictable at times. Still its a good story, and it doesn't really fall into "Dawn of the Dead" kind of stuff.

The Controls:
The biggest Gripe I had on DR1 was Frank Himself, he controlled, in my opinion very awkward, took some getting used to. But chuck is more fluid in his movements. He feels less clunky (and he doesn't look old when he runs). Chuck can aim guns with the left trigger, and drives with the right. Get what i'm saying? The game adopted general standards, it behaves like a racing game in a car or bike, and it behaves like a TPS when you have a gun (LT aim RT fire) Sweet! Now you can just shoot or just drive. All in all, the button mappings and Chuck's movements do what you expect, when you expect them.

Weapons:

DR2 introduces custom weapons, called Combo Weapons. Combo Weapons are weapons made from two different Weapons, such as a Box of Nails and a Baseball Bat. Combine the two in the conveniently placed Maintenance rooms to create a Nail Bat, it does more damage, it gives you PP, and it lasts longer than an ordinary Baseball Bat. Great addition, and some of the combination are zany and just ridiculous. But most of them are very fun.

Multiplayer:

Make money and Kill zombies on a crazy gameshow online with thousands of people over XBL on TIR or simply add a second Chuck to the game you're playing and kick some Zombie butt together. Awesome idea, just really hoped for split screen. oh well.

Zombrex:

The Zombrex finding missions are good, they're a mixed bag because they are a bit tedious, but the game does get you all four you need without you going ballistic, and tells you int he watch menu which missions will give you Zombrex.I Liked Katey's character, and i didn't want her to die, so was glad i didn't have to pull my hair out to find Zombrex.

What i thought needed improvement:

Saving:

DR2 drastically improved saving, now there is a bathroom in every area. But honestly i'd have preferred it a save anywhere system. As is, it is better than fine, but my main qualm is that sense of "i'm Saving Now" there are no Zombies in the bathroom, and there would be the way they have it set up. I'd have preferred it if there was an air-duct in every area going to the safe house in some way to give that "there is one safe place" feel. But its minor at best, the save system is ok, just USE IT for your sake.

Low levels:

This is the biggest problem i have, tight quarters, 4 bars of life, hundreds of Zombies, you're slow as molasses, and zombies like to grab you. You will die, quite a bit in the beginning, its annoying and i got quite angry. But once you get a Speed +, the world is a happy place. Quickstep the drink helps a lot too.

LOADING:
Holy crap, load load load load load load load. Ok you get me, this game loads, a LOT. Its takes up a lot of time and drastically drops immersion factor. Plus the hard drive install, doesn't really help. I mean there are times when it loads the cut scene after a cut scene it just showed. Ugh, i got very impatient waiting so much.

Psychopaths:
The first Psychos in DR1 seemed easier than these guys, these guys are made of steel, are faster than bullets and do ridiculous damage compared to the first one. Holy crap the psychos are hard in DR2, and they just don't have the same feel to the battles as DR1 it was more about just figuring out how to kill them in DR1 not running around and waiting till they get tired and hit them with a shotgun blast that does like a smidge of health damage. Then repeat until dead. I remember in 1, if you had a good weapon you could easily overpower certain psychos, in this one, their psychotic behavior somehow gives them the ability to withstand an atomic bomb. Its ridiculous, and frustrating especially at low levels, btw any one hit kill attacks will not work on psychos, it won't even land. (That's why the charge up sledgehammer move won't hit them if you're wondering.)

Time:

There never seems to be enough, its a constant juggle of do this, do this, get to the safe house then, kill stuff, kill this guy, crap I'm gonna lose this survivor AGGGGH! Yeah, it will give you Grey hairs if you let it overwhelm you. I think they could have removed some urgency and it would have been more fun. More time to kill stuff = good.


All in all though, Dead Rising is more of the same but much better, its more playable, it feels longer, has more replay value, and can let you kill Zombies with friends. it has a few problems but what game doesn't? Its definitely worth at least a play if you like violent games, like zombies, or you like platforming type games, even Shooters. Its worth a rent if you're unsure. If you liked Dead Rising 1, pick it up. If you didn't because of the saving and that kind of thing but thought it was fun, rent this one and try it out. If you loathed DR1, you'll hate this too. Its a lot of fun if you like this sort of stuff, i recommend.

Yes! Dead Rising 2 did not disappoint. I loved DR1 and was a little skeptical about DR2. Gameplay has changed a little but the minor improvements are noticeable - better (not great) combat with firearms, survivors/followers do not get stuck, 3 save slots (6 if you have a memory card). I do miss the photography and twin mini-chainsaws (which were a little too powerful in DR1 with the books). But the game is still a ton a fun and I could not stop playing. There are plenty of things to do and try, and you would have to play it more than once to enjoy everything - but that's how the game was designed. For someone who has not played DR1, don't compare this with Left for Dead - apples and oranges people.

The cut-scenes and voice acting are excellent - in a cheesy B-movie sort of way - but this is dead rising so it fits. Boss battles can be frustrating but once you figure it out they have just the right difficulty. Story was better in DR1 but that does not take the fun away from the game. The weapons do not last that long but the game wants you to try different weapons/combos - just wish there were more inventory slots or a storage system. And some of the combo weapons are too big to carry in your inventory so you have to use them up. BTW, yes you can make the combo weapon without earning the combo card, you just cant use the alternate (heavy) attack mode.

After completing it once, I want more and play through it again to try all the cool combo weapons. Some of them (like the BFG and rocket launcher which you can make late in the game) are just too much fun. It is worth buying due to the replay and coop value. Capcom, DLCs please? soon?

If you've played the first Dead Rising, you'll be grounded with where the sequel will take you. The game play in DR2 isn't much different than it's predecessor. You get timed objectives via radio and have three days to complete your mission before the military arrive.
If you enjoyed the first one, the alikeness is in by no means a bad thing. I loved my zombie holocaustic ways in part one, and the ability to combo weapons, gores things up for a finer, bloodier time. Not to mention the ability to co-op with a buddy, playing as a duplicate Chuck to fend off the daunting undead.
Since the game is played on time-based, eventually you will have to disregard several objectives and/or exploration, but wanting to try to delve everything provides plenty of replay value.
Overall, if you loved the first one, this one is by far, much more zombirific!

If you want to take your frustrations out this is the game to do so!! Go around killing zombies with very creative, odd, every day stuff and turning it into one sadistic zombie slaying weapon!! Definately not appropriate for children!!! Pretty gorey, and ashamingly addictive! Much better then Dead Island as well!! Save your money and go for this and DR2!! Much better and much better value for your buck!

Dead Rising One was revolutionary, but it lacked key elements that held it back from becoming a great game.

Dead Rising Two, expands on those elements, but missed the ship with some much needed improvements.

Overall, a very fun zombie survival killer game. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this genre of game.

Dead Rising 2 has got to be one of my favorite games in my entire Xbox collection. Whats better than having a mall full of zombies that you can kill using items that range from purses, to machine guns? This game also has great replay value if you get bored of all of your other games. The two forms of multi-player are also pretty fun, and you can log a lot of hours on this game. My only regret with this game is that i did not buy it sooner!

If you are like me, you love Zombies. Left4Dead, COD: Zombies, Resident Evil and now Dead Rising....Dead Rising 2 is a sequel that tops the original in every way. You play as Chuck Greene, a moto-cross-looking Dad who competes in a reality show called Terror is Reality where he is forced to compete through American Gladiator-type games that slaughter zombies for fun infront of an audience (important as this is the base of the multiplayer portion). Chuck's daughter has been bitten and requires a drug called Zombrex which prevents her from changing every 24 hours. You run around saving and joining up with survivors, exploring missions via radio and human contact. The single player formula is still virtually the same from the original. Kill zombies, get weapons, save people, do side-missions. There is enough there to keep the player focused and interested. Plenty of substance.

Multiplayer as I stated before is a bunch of different games in their "Terror is Reality" show such as Hamsterball (Player in a ball, rolling around splattering zombies and hitting bumpers). Some are more fun than others but all are entertaining. My only grip would be that its so hard to find a multiplayer match with 4 people due to how popular it isn't. Yet- This game is a blast! I highly recommend buying it if you liked the 1st Dead Rising or love Zombies/Zombie-obliterating.


FUN: (5/5)
Gameplay: (5/5)
Replayability: (4/5)
Graphics: (4/5)
Value: (4/5)


PROS:
*Thousands of zombies on screen at once with no issues
*Tons of weapons as well as combo cards which allow you to fuse two weapons together to create a mega-weapon.
*Lots of areas and survivors to explore and encounter
*Plenty to do
*Fun, fun and fun
*Humor is always there
*Chuck is actually pretty cool


CONS
*Time constraints eliminate time for exploration and more fun =( but it is manageable.
*Controls feel like a Capcom game (I don't know why but every Capcom game has just 'different' controls that look and feel different.
*3 save slots- may not seem like a big deal but it sort of is...
*You have to read, rather than listen to what the characters you encounter are telling you sometimes.
*Some sections may feel mildy repetitive but its up to you to alter that.
*No news shocker here...Dying sucks.
*Please Multiplayers come back! Its hard to find a game... =(

THEY ARE MAKING A DEAD RISING 2: FRANKS STORY GAME which defeats the purpose of buying this game if the new one has improvements and more to it...however, I am definitely enjoying this and cannot recommend not buying this. This game is fun.

This game is a lot of fun...IF you just want to kill zombies in a variety of ways using a plethora of weapons which you can make by combining items together. That being said, trying to navigate, maneuver, and "run" from one end of the game to the next can be excrutiating. There are several improvements from the last game while some glaring problems were not fixed.

Killing zombies is a lot of fun. What is even more fun is thinking up new and inventive ways to do it. This game gives plenty of options for those creative zombie killers with the combo card system which adds a lot of content and replay value. You can even attach chainsaws to a motorcycle!

Chuck, however, has the maneuverability of a geriatrich robocop. There is no sprint button allowing you to outrun WALKING ZOMBIES. I don't know about you but if I was in a zombie apocalypse situation I would not be sauntering about at a slow pace. That aside, some of his movements and actions are excrutiatingly slow. While trying to jump, or even swinging an item, Chuck stumbles and looks awkward. This is a huge pain when trying to fight psychos early on because some of them can actually run Chuck down because he can not sprint. This also makes moving from one end of the area to the other sometimes painfully long especially in a game that relies on time constraints.

There have been improvements since the previous game though. The biggest improvement is also still disappointing, the save system. It only allows 3 save slots first of all! You are still required to track down a bathroom stall to save but at least this time around the game offers the option to save after completing several cases. It is still not enough however. I found myself tracking down 4 or 5 survivors and running back to the safe house and bumping into a psycho who would kill me and erase almost 1 hour to 2 hours worth of gameplay. I know, I could have saved more often and blah blah blah. I think it would have been much better to have an auto-save option for every time you enter a new area. What makes this matter even worse are the somewhat long loading times between areas. Another improvement is in the AI of the survivors. In the last game it was painfully annoying to get a survivor from one area to the next but this time they actually follow you somewhat closely and push zombies out of the way or fend them off themselves. The diverse characters were pretty entertaining as well but the psychos seemed much harder this time, especially with the bumbling slow movements of Chuck.

Also new to this game is multiplayer and co-op. While I did not play co-op, the multiplayer was quite fun. Terror is Reality is a game show where whoever kills the most zombies or scores the most points by killing zombies in 9 different events, 4 per game randomly chosen. It mixes the game up a little for those who get tired of saving people or running down Zombrex. It might take awhile to get a game going but once it starts it can be a lot of fun with just a little bit of lag here and there.

The game in and of itself is a blast to play. The story is pretty good but come on, who really cares much about the story when there are thousands of zombies moaning for you to destroy them in various hilarious ways...

Dead Rising presents an interesting game play concept. You get about 72-96 hours in game to complete everything. This translate to roughly 8-9 hours in real life. I was at first turned off by this and sort of felt I had to try to rush everything. Basically everything is on the clock. You have to get things done by a certain time, or you won't get the complete story/game. I learned to love this system and felt like it definitely fit the game.

I personally love the zombie franchise and this is one of few games I felt that got the right atmosphere with the whole zombie theme. In this game you play a character named Chuck who is trying to save his daughter who was bitten by a zombie.

The flow of the game is rather simple. You have 72 (or about 84~96) hours until military comes to rescue you and whoever else. You are staying at this safe house, and you venture out into a very large area of a fictional Vegas. The game is split up in two ways: cases and missions. Cases are what drives the main story and they are given at a set time. For example, you have to give your daughter Zombrex - which prevents her from becoming a zombie - at 7am. A case might appear later at 9am which then drives the story more. You can miss a case if you're not in the area at the time the case is suppose to start. In that case you can still continue but you won't ever know what happens.

Besides cases, you also get missions. Usually you get this in a form of a radio call. Missions are usually given after some timeframe between a case. Usually you attempt to save survivors or you might fight a psycho who can't handle the zombie outbreak.

Some thoughts about the game:

Combo system ~ You can develop your own custom weapon in this game. In DR1 you can use anything as a weapon. DR2 still offers this but now you can combine weapons to earn extra points to level up. What you can combine is fairly large, and there are set rules to what you can combine. You can tell an item can be combined by the fact that you see a blue icon above the item. You have to take it to one of the many work benches you find in the game to combine into a combo weapon. The bread and butter item I think that you'll most use is the spiked bat which is taking a box of nails and a baseball bat. It's powerful, and you can make one early in the game. Each combo weapon has two forms of attacks: regular and power (where you hold down the attack button for a second). You earn points to level up as you use combo weapons and some offer more than other. Also if you own a combo card - which explains how to combine the weapon though it isn't required to do so - then you earn more points to level up than if you didn't have the card. It's interesting and some are rather good to use. However, some combo weapons feel rather bothersome to use on a regular basis. For example, there is one where you can combine a metal pipe and fire rockets with. You can easily clear a lot of zombies at once, and it's rather fun to shoot. However, you can easily drop it if you select another weapon or a zombie attacks you and you have to pick it up again.

Psychos ~ What made DR1 so fun was the psychos, in my opinion. In DR2 they return, and they're rather crazy. You get some good ones like Slappy who is a deranged toy story mascot. He was fairly funny. All of the psycho usually end with Chuck saying a one liner. Sometimes it's funny. For example, there is one where a rather large man was marrying this woman and at the end, Chuck was like, "You may now kiss the bride" as he's being devoured by a previous bride he slain but turned to a zombie. Overall very good though I felt they could polish up some of the psycho moves. It seems like all of them are rather the same in how you fight: wait for them to do a move, run up smack them with a spiked bat, then run away until they do it again. It seems like you don't fight much of a different psycho each time, just the same thing but different behavior.

Survivors ~ When I played DR1, I had the hardest time saving survivors. Most of the time, they die rather horrendously at the hands of zombies. In DR2, they took the AI and made it smarter than ever. No longer do you have to micromanage your survivors and having large groups of survivors easy to handle. Some of the psycho battles offer survivors but before that you can sometimes bring in survivors to help you with fighting the boss and adding a little bit of damage. In this version, on my first playthrough, I only lost 1 survivor but that was due to me and lugging that survivor around too long.

Story ~ I won't spoil it but I think the story is taken depending on what you liked. In DR1, you played as a reporter who is trying to uncover the story. In DR2, it's a more personal game. You play Chuck who is trying to save his daughter and you might feel more at home with this story. For me personally I liked the story of DR1 since it feels so related to the zombie outbreak. This one it's like the zombies are just an inconvenience to you rather than you actually going in and trying to figure out what is going on.

Cars ~ I don't recall any sort of cars in DR1. I think you get a motorcycle and a jeep. In DR2 you get a motorcycle and you can even customize it with items. For example, you can have a motorcycle, and attach chainsaws to it making it really deadly. This is really helpful in later parts of the game when you have to navigate through heavily infested areas.

Graphics ~ I felt that DR2 is a bit sluggish comparing to DR1. I felt there were a few frame rate issues here and there especially in the outside area. For example, in one situation, I was talking to a survivor up on a stand and more zombies came to the area and the game slowed down to a near turtle speed. Overall it felt a little jerky in some parts.

Clothes ~ I'm unsure if anyone else agrees, but I find that the amount of women clothing you can wear is rather disturbing. It feels like every story you get to has women clothing that Chuck can wear. I like it where I use Chuck's default outfit, but when I get an itch to try on other clothes, I find it rather depressing that there isn't much men clothes you can wear and they look rather horrible compared to Chuck's original.

Overall I loved the game. I played it over and over and felt like I can play it for years to come. I still play the original DR1 heavily and that was out for nearly four years already. It's a totally nice game and each time you get so many things. The time limit might seem burdensome, but it really isn't and free roaming isn't all that great of an idea in this game. The time limit is just great but I would imagine for some people it would be a huge turn off.

I think any zombie fan should pick up this title. It's flat out awesome.